The Devil is Born
by Cornelius Novington
Summary: An alternate origin to how Matt Murdock decided to become a crime fighting vigilante
Disclaimer: I do not own Daredevil

Summary: This is an alternate origin to how Matt Murdock decided to become a vigilante

"Most people are haunted by the sins they've committed. I'm haunted by what I've failed to do."

The day had finally arrived. Today Matt Murdock was going to take the BAR exam and complete his final step in becoming a lawyer. Foggy was up uncharacteristically early, and as much as he insisted that he just wanted to give his coffee time to kick in his hastened heartbeat betrayed him.

For Matt it was just another day though. He always had been the more rational of the two anyway. Maybe that's why they worked so well. Ever since they became roommates in their first year at Columbia Law School the outside observer might think they were friends because Foggy felt sorry for Matt. The true was that their friendship was as symbiotic as possible. That's why Matt knew he could trust Foggy more than anybody else and why they would open a law… "Matt we have to go soon!" exclaimed Foggy. Matt was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't sensed Foggy walk into his room. "Sorry Foggy, I was just lost in my thoughts." said Matt. "That's fine, you're probably just nervous about the BAR." "Yeah, that must be it." Sometimes it's easier not telling Foggy the whole truth.

To the average civilian New York City is just like any other city. To Matt Murdock New York was alive and he was the only one who could hear her. The steps of every pedestrian echoed together until a unifying heartbeat shook through the sidewalk. The passersbys rushed past like blood in a vein. Just like that Matt was one with the city. Half of Matt listened to his best friend Foggy talking about their plans for celebrating tonight while the rest of him listened to New York City. After a few blocks Matt smelled the unmistakable scent of smoke. This wasn't burnt food either, he would have been able to taste that through in the air. An apartment 3 blocks north had just caught fire, and from the faint heartbeat he could tell somebody was asleep inside. "Hey Foggy, I left my pencils in my room. I need to go back, so I'll just meet you at the testing site." Okay, but when you miss the test and I'm the only one of us who becomes a lawyer I'm not supporting you." Foggy retorted. As soon as Foggy was out of earshot Matt snuck into an ally and broke into a sprint.

The routine was becoming so familiar it was almost second nature. Ever since Matt was a boy he had wanted to help people, his gifts showed him how much the people around him were hurting. Once he was able to hone his abilities he used them to call in anonymously to 911 to try to help people. There was even a small article in the back of the paper one year. They called him the Guardian Angel of Hell's Kitchen. That would have made the nuns so proud. The best part was that once he was a lawyer he would be able to do even more to help people.

Matt threw open the door and picked up the phone, his fingers already knew where the buttons were without thinking.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"There's a fire on the corner of 51st and 10th. There's a young boy trapped inside. The fire just started, but you need to hurry."

"The nearest fire station has been alerted. Can I get your name and…"

*Click*

None of this was about the recognition. Matt had a test to get to anyway.

Matt had about an hour left in his exam. If he really needed the help he could have deciphered what the other people in the room answered from the sounds of the pencils scratching the paper and their hands brushing against the page. Matt was confident though, he'd been preparing for this day a long time. Usually when Matt was taking a test he could cut himself off from the city and focus on what was in front of him. He got too cocky today though, and he started to tune in to the sounds outside of the testing center while he worked. There was a car parked outside playing his favorite radio station. It was a welcome distraction from the dull sounds of the testing room. There was something else though, yelling in the store across the street. Matt couldn't help himself and he began listening in to the conversation.

"I don't want to hurt you, just give me the money." Matt believed him, the boy was young, probably still in high school. But there was something in his voice too, why was he so scared?

"We haven't opened yet, I have to go get the key from the back. Please just don't shoot me!" The clerk was young too, probably just a little older than the boy.

"NO! Wait! Just stay there, my partner will be here in a minute."

As much as Matt wanted to help he knew that he couldn't. If he left during the test he would automatically fail. It was an easy argument to make, he could help one person now or thousands of people as a lawyer. Somebody else would likely call the police, and Matt truly believed that the boy didn't want to hurt her.

They stood there at a standstill for a few minutes until the girl broke into tears. His partner was taking too long. He needed help and this wasn't part of the plan, so the boy decided to take off the mask and calm the girl down.

"Hey, look. I'm a normal person. I just have to do this; if you give me the money I'm not going to hurt you."

At that same moment somebody else entered the store.

"Marcus! You're such an idiot! You can't take your mask off, if we have a record we're useless to the Russians and then we're as good as dead!" Matt started to break into a cold sweat, this guy was different. There wasn't any hesitation in his voice. He wasn't afraid to be there.

"No it's okay, she isn't going to tell anybody! I can fix this!"

Before the boy Marcus or Matt could do anything the sound of a gun ripped through the air, and there was one less heartbeat in the room. What happened after that was a blur for Matt. Even with his heightened senses his guilt overwhelmed him and drowned out everything except the test in front of him. Matt knew he could never let anything like this happen again, but now making phone calls wouldn't be enough.


End file.
